fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Submit Your Event
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Send Letter to the Editor
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

A visual odyssey through the Shawangunk Mountains

New Paltz-based photographer Nora Scarlett has expanded and revised Trunks of the Gunks

by Sharyn Flanagan
August 1, 2022
in Books, Nature
0
White pine contortion. (Photos by Nora Scarlett)
Nora Scarlett (Photo by Lauren Thomas)

Looking at the trees that surround us, it seems there could be nothing in nature more solid and immutable. But in New Paltz-based photographer Nora Scarlett’s Trunks of the Gunks, first published in 2016 and revised for 2022, the forests of the Shawangunk Mountains are revealed as dynamic. We see a constantly changing landscape, one shaped by time and the environment where trees companionably intertwine limbs, twist and turn as they reject the darkness and thrive in the most improbable of locations.

The new edition of the book includes 49 additional photographs along with the original content, including a rather startling sequence of images from 2010 to 2021 showing a dramatic change in the relationship between one particular Castle Point maple tree and a trail marker. A prelude written by Peter Del Tredici of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard has been added to the 2022 revision, accompanying the original foreword by Mohonk Preserve’s Paul Huth and an introduction by Scarlett.

The photographs are presented thematically, with each section focusing on a different idea. Many have a humorous aspect. In “Move” trees appear as if in motion, hastily scrambling up a rock wall or slithering across a mossy boulder, and in “Dine” trees appear caught in the act of digesting something. The “Smile” section features tree formations that resemble faces and creatures that Scarlett notes were revealed “through a unique combination of light, shape, texture and even blemish. I do not like cutesy images, and these could easily have become that. But (the images) found me.”

The Trunks of the Gunks project began back in 2005, when the photographer was walking in the woods one day and noticed a tree that appeared to be “kissing” a boulder. Intrigued by the sight, Scarlett returned home for her camera, studio tripod and accessories. “With my interest piqued, I wondered what other amazing trees were hiding in plain sight, and so began my search.” Already an avid outdoors enthusiast, she now had a mission on her hikes, perched in precarious situations looking for the best angles and out in all types of weather.

Fall forest Maple.

The photographs document nature as she found it. The only manipulations made on site were minor things like removing a fallen branch from the scene or tweaking the placement of a leaf that got in the way of the tree roots she really wanted to photograph. Many times she went back to photograph the same scene to get the right lighting. Scarlett does spend a great of time with the images after shooting them, using computer software to subtly bring out the lights and darks and color contrasts, but only to bring out its best qualities.

Scarlett grew up in Palo Alto, California, discovering photography in high school. While attending UC Berkeley in the early ‘70s, she worked as a photojournalist for the campus press and became hooked. After moving to New York City in 1976, she learned her craft in the studios of several well respected photographers, including a stint as a print spotter for Irving Penn.Inspired by large format cameras and studio lighting, Scarlett developed her own workcreating still life photographs and maintained her own commercial studio for more than 20 years, with numerous clients that included Gap, American Express, Chanel and IBM. Certain qualities emerged that still define her work, she says: a bold use of color and light, elegant yet sometimes quirky compositions, a fascination with making ordinary objects beautiful and developing concepts that result in a series of images. Scarlett moved up to New Paltz in 1998 and spends part of each year in Utah. 

Trunks of the Gunks images have been exhibited along the way and some are now featured hanging in the great room of the new Grove Lodge addition to Mohonk Mountain House. The new hardcover edition of the book is available in the gift shop and visitor center there as well as local retailers. 

The 2022 edition of Trunks of the Gunks (Black Dome Press) has been expanded to 144 pages and features 135 full-color photographs in an approximately nine-inch square format. More information is available at norascarlett.com. 

Keep on trunkin.
Tags: members
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher

Sharyn Flanagan

Related Posts

Floating above the flames: The Cloud Intern book launch lands in Kingston
Books

Floating above the flames: The Cloud Intern book launch lands in Kingston

May 15, 2025
Three local libraries support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library  
Books

Three local libraries support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library  

May 14, 2025
A green glacier
Columns

A green glacier

May 7, 2025
Poetry and photography overlap at special event in Woodstock
Books

Poetry and photography overlap at special event in Woodstock

May 2, 2025
Kingston trees get green
Nature

Kingston trees get green

April 25, 2025
Celebrate local trails with this special event in Rosendale
Explore

Celebrate local trails with this special event in Rosendale

April 25, 2025
Next Post
Motel is proposed, instead of single family homes

Motel is proposed, instead of single family homes

Weather

Kingston, NY
54°
Cloudy
5:25 am8:20 pm EDT
Feels like: 52°F
Wind: 5mph WSW
Humidity: 74%
Pressure: 30.01"Hg
UV index: 0
MonTueWed
72°F / 48°F
79°F / 54°F
73°F / 55°F
powered by Weather Atlas

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

×
We've expanded coverage and need your support. Subscribe now for unlimited access -- free article(s) remain for the month.
View Subscription Offers Sign In
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Art
    • Books
    • Kids
    • Lifestyle & Wellness
    • Food & Drink
    • Music
    • Nature
    • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletters
    • Hey Kingston
    • New Paltz Times
    • Woodstock Times
    • Week in Review

© 2022 Ulster Publishing